Witches Ball
by Iced Fairy
Summary: Marisa finally succeed in one of her oldest research projects, forcing the three most active magicians in Gensoukyo to reevaluate their place in the world. With the help of a small devil and a few other faces.
1. Chapter 1

Alice stretched before returning her attention to the tome. Shanghai leaned over her shoulder, following her mental interest in the words. Being a puppeteer required more than just studying magical tomes. In order to be a performer one had to learn storytelling as well. Alice's skill in that field was... mediocre. Still she was passable at ad libbing, which meant that if she studied a story well she could use that as a basis for her own performances.

She was currently reading through a tale about a princess who escaped her captors before the various princes looking for her ever found the castle, and the various issues that sprang up from it. There were a few edits she already had in mind, specifically the princess' disposition and competence. But overall it was a good piece for a festival.

She sighed as a knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. Shanghai flailed in annoyance as she stood to deal with the intrusion. Who could be visiting her anyway? Marisa would have already walked inside. She waved her hand and a doll levitated over to open the door.

To her surprise a demon with flame red hair in a librarian's outfit was standing there. "Ah, sorry to interrupt you Lady Alice, but something's come up."

"Something stranger than you being out of the library without Patchouli?" Alice replied. Shanghai waved the little devil in, and Alice mimicked the gesture. "Well it must be important then. Come in. Do you want some tea?" Alice sent a few dolls out to the pot just in case.

Koakuma gingerly entered her house and sat on one of the couches. "Ah, tea might be nice, but I'm not sure how long we'll be staying. You see, there's a problem at Marisa's."

Alice raised an eyebrow at that. "What kind of problem?" she asked as Shanghai bobbed about in agitation.

Koakuma's head wings twitched. "Well, Miss Patchouli sent me to get back some books... So I decided to stake out Marisa's house and break in while she was out."

"A good plan," Alice stated. "So what's the problem? If you want me to act as a decoy I'm afraid I'll have to refuse."

"It's not that. Breaking in would be too easy." Koakuma frowned. "The problem is Marisa's been moping about during the day and drinking herself senseless at night for the last three days!"

"What?!" Alice bit her lip and stared down at the table. What could cause Marisa to mope like that? It wasn't romance, since Alice was... decently certain she knew who Marisa was interested in. No one in the village had died recently. And Marisa never let herself get this obsessed over spell research.

Shanghai's agitated pacing brought her back to reality. She looked up at Koakuma. "So you want me to help break Marisa out of her funk?"

Koakuma nodded, her wings drooping slightly. "Yes. I'm afraid I'm not the best person to cheer up Marisa when she's down. If she were her normal self I could help I think, but right now," Koakuma looked away, "she doesn't need me making her question her romantic inclinations."

Something in the little devil's tone caught Alice's attention. She looked closer at Koakuma, trying her best to read the tiny movements of the woman's true emotions. Finally the truth struck her.  
Shanghai covered her little doll mouth as Alice stated "You like her, don't you."

Koakuma drooped some more. "Not the same way I like Miss Patchouli, but..."

Alice sighed. Devils were apparently complicated. "We'll have to have a talk later I see." Shanghai zoomed upward as she stood. "But first let's deal with a drunken witch."

Koakuma's recovery to her cheery self was remarkably fast. "Right! Please lead the way Lady Alice."

"Hmph. You're the one who asked me to go." Shanghai shook her head as Alice floated out the door. "Still, I guess I am the one who will be doing all the work. Come along then, and try not to interfere too much."

She flew along doing her best to ignore Koakuma singing "What do you do with a drunken witch girl," as they traveled. Though she had to admit the woman had a fine mastery of doggerel. It had to be all the books.

* * *

Marisa's house was, as always, a wreck. Strange metalwork, discarded items stolen from Kourindou and other assorted junk filled the girl's yard. The grass itself was poorly kept as well, with strange (and poisonous) mushrooms growing in the shade and odd vines wrapped all over.

Alice put aside her annoyance at how messy Marisa was and landed straight in front of the door. She considered being circuitous for a moment, then discarded the idea. Marisa could be subtle, but usually the direct route was best. She knocked on the door. "Marisa, it's me, Alice."

There was a rustling from inside followed by the dull clank of a bottle hitting the floor and a series of curses. Shanghai and Koakuma flinched as another dull clank indicated someone had kicked the bottle. "I'm busy. Go'home."

Alice felt her lip curling in disgust. What could have driven Marisa to such a sorry state? "Sorry Marisa, I'm here to beat you in a magician's duel and enslave you for a year and a day. Today the forest will be mine."

Koakuma's mouth dropped open. "What?! What are you saying?! That's not part of the plan!" Alice ignored the little devil. Her panic helped with verisimilitude after all.

There was another curse from inside and the clattering crash of a table being violently swept clean. There was another clunk as a bottle was kicked again, then several stomping footsteps before the door was flung open and Marisa pointed a hakkero right in Alice's face. "I told ya to get lost."

Alice's eyes flew open at Marisa's appearance. The witch was disheveled and reeked of far more than three days worth of boozing. Dark rings encircled her narrowed golden eyes, and her hair was matted and ratty. She'd been sleeping in her outfit as well, given the creases, smudges, and missing hat.

And to further Alice's surprise there was an aura of power around the black white witch that Alice hadn't expected to feel for some time.

Shanghai bobbed forward as Alice stared. "You've become a magician."

"What?" Koakuma's voice helped pull Alice back to reality. "You're a magician now, Marisa?" The little devil moved up next to Alice, ignoring the danger posed by Marisa's hakkero. "Why didn't you tell us? This is impressive!"

Marisa's eyes and arm dropped at Koakuma's praise. "Yeah. I'm a youkai now." She turned and kicked a basket full of umbrellas over. "The worst magician in Gensoukyo!" she spat as Alice flinched. "Can't even cast my own spells right!"

Alice could only stare in shock as Marisa carelessly threw her hakkero to the side and stomped back to her table, pausing only to grab a bottle from a shelf on the way. "So whatever. Do your damned magician's contest or whatever then go away. I want to be alone."

"Marisa..." Koakuma looked at the newly born magician with sympathy in her eyes. Alice understood the little devil's feelings. Something had gone very wrong to get Marisa this out of sorts. On the other hand, Alice was also angry at how blasé Marisa was being about something she'd worked damn hard to accomplish.

Shanghai straightened up as Alice decided on her course of action. First things first. She needed to get past Marisa's refusal to admit her problems to find out what was actually going on. And the best way to handle that was to put Marisa off balance.

She marched up to one of the other chairs, righted it, then sat down. "Very well then. I challenge you to an endurance contest. Whoever can withstand Koakuma's back rub the longest wins."

"What?" The two other women stared at her incredulously. After a few moments Marisa started rubbing her eyes to check that she was still awake. Koakuma on the other hand started smiling wider and wider. "You're joking, right?" Marisa muttered incredulously.

"Nope," Alice replied. She waved Koakuma forward. "You go first Marisa."

Marisa just stared at Alice stupidly as Koakuma skipped over behind her. She finally snapped out of her stupor as the little devil rested her hand on her shoulders. "Wait! What are you- But I thought-"

"Now now Marisa, this is a formal challenge," Koakuma cooed. Marisa sat bolt upright as the succubus started massaging her shoulders while pressing against her back. "But don't worry," Koakuma said in a false conspiratorial whisper. "I'll take it easy on you."

Marisa sat there mouthing words soundlessly as Koakuma went to work on her. Alice did her best to pretend to be uninterested in the proceedings, though the fact that Shanghai was fuming next to the wall probably belied her calm a bit. Finally Marisa sighed and relaxed a little. "You just set this up to try to get me to talk didn't you?"

Alice took a deep breath. "Yeah," she admitted. "It was the only way I could think of that would work on someone as hard headed as you."

Marisa grunted, then gasped as Koakuma somehow made her shoulders pop. "Yeah, that figures." She sighed and sat there for a few moments with her eyes closed.

"The immortality potion wasn't supposed to make me a magician youkai," Marisa finally said.

"Huh?" Alice blinked at Marisa's statement. "It wasn't supposed to make you a youkai?" Shanghai started hovering forward as the full meaning of Marisa's words hit her. "You mean you turned yourself into a youkai by accident?!"

"Ha! That's right!" Koakuma hopped back as Marisa slammed the table, then slouched forward. "I created a potion that absolutely, positively, one hundred percent could not turn a human into a youkai. And here I am! A fucking youkai magician!" Marisa slapped the half full sake bottle to the floor then buried her face in her arms.

Alice ground her teeth while sending one of her dolls to right the bottle. How dare Marisa just brush off the effort it took to become a magician. How could she...

She shook her head and forced herself to take deep breaths. Obviously there was something else at play. She did her best to calm herself. Fortunately Koakuma had gone back to giving Marisa a back rub, so the other magician wouldn't notice Alice's annoyance.

When she'd gathered some control over her temper she asked carefully, "Why didn't you want to become a youkai magician? Isn't that the normal result of an immortality technique using magic?"

Marisa snorted. "You wouldn't understand. You're from Makai. Humanity doesn't mean much there. Here..." Marisa managed to push herself somewhat upright with Koakuma's help. "Here it's different. Now I'm on the other team. Forever. Even if I solve an incident I can only make things worse."

"Ah..." Shanghai sat down on Alice's shoulder as she thought. Marisa did have a point. She didn't completely understand the details here in Gensoukyo. And she didn't think much about what it meant to be human one way or another. She was Alice, raised by the demon goddess Shinki. The concept of "humanity" didn't mean much there.

After a while she decided to return to facts. "So, you created an immortality potion in order to become immortal without ending up as a magician, lich or hermit. And after taking it you ended up as a magician." Alice frowned. "That seems wildly improbable. Especially since you're so good with potions. Perhaps you ran afoul of some magical law that isn't in the literature?"

"I shouldn't have," Marisa muttered. "I made extra sure the potion was inimical to youkai power. Hell the damn thing should have killed me when I became a youkai. There were three different allergens in there."

Alice sighed. "I see..." She turned her attention to the table for a while, trying to think of what to do. She couldn't understand this. Koakuma couldn't understand it. She had a feeling talking to Reimu was out of the question. So who could they turn to?

"You don't need to keep twisting my shoulders Koa," Marisa muttered.

Shnaghai took to the air. That was the solution. "Marisa, go get cleaned up. We have someone to meet."

Marisa glared over at her. "I don't recall saying I wanted to go anywhere."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Think for a moment. You want answers to two questions. Why did your potion fail, and how to be a human that isn't fully human." Alice tapped on the table. "And the obvious people to answer those questions are Patchouli and Sakuya."

Marisa blinked a few times. Then nodded. Alice was pleased to see a spark returning to those golden eyes. "Sakuya. Yeah, she'd understand." Marisa sighed then slowly stood as Koakuma stepped back. "I guess I'll have to take a bath." She sighed again, then slowly walked over and picked up her hakkero. "Oh, and if you peek Koa, I'll blast you." She walked out towards her bathroom.

"Don't worry Marisa," Koakuma called after her.

Alice closed her eyes as Marisa entered the bathroom. "Well, we're getting somewhere."

"Yes. That was very clever Lady Alice. I'm glad you came to help." Alice started as a softness pressed into her back. Then two hands fell on her shoulders. "Still, I'm afraid I'm still favoring Marisa in the contest."

"That was a joke and you know it," Alice sputtered in protest.

"You said it was an official challenge~" Koakuma replied. Alice's retort was cut off as Koakuma somehow managed to make both shoulders and her breastbone pop. "And besides, as a succubus my pride demands I prove that I did go easy on Marisa..."

* * *

Alice sighed as her spine seemed to lose its strength. "Alright alright you win."

Koakuma giggle. "Actually I believe Marisa wins." Alice shuddered as Koakuma breathed into her ear. "Servitude for a year and a day was it?"

Shanghai whapped the little demon upside the head. "Don't you dare," Alice muttered.

"Aww..." Koakuma pouted, then she smiled. "Well then I guess I could take Marisa for that time."

Alice slowly pushed herself upright. "Drop the matter and I'll help you surprise Patchouli."

Koakuma thought for a moment, "Alright, it's a deal. Three for one is best anyway~"

Alice's retort was cut off by Marisa exiting her bathroom. "Let's go before I think of a way out of this," the witch muttered.

Alice groaned and stood. "Yes. Let's get out of here."

* * *

As their little group walked through the shelves in silence Alice once again noted how Voile was very obviously Patchouli's space, not Remilia's.

The most obvious indicator was the bookshelves themselves. Remilia would have compromised ease of use with aesthetics on some level. Patchouli just had Koakuma put the books into the correct shelf with no concern as to whether it stuck out past its fellows or was half the size of it's neighbors.

The furniture was another strong indicator. While everything was of similar make to Remilia's, it was all scattered and oddly placed here in the library. Sakuya probably had given up at some point. Chairs were placed as bookstops, tables were overturned to create makeshift pens, and several of the ubiquitous flower lamps had been reconfigured to stands for magical artifacts.

Finally they arrived where Patchouli was working. Shanghai and Koakuma both waved, while Alice nodded politely. Marisa on the other hand did her best to disappear. Alice moved behind the woman so she couldn't run away as easily. She was just glad they'd gotten to Marisa before she'd gotten seriously drunk.

"I'm back Miss Patchouli!" Koakuma chirped.

Patchouli gave the group one of her long stares that would look so much better with glasses. "I asked you to bring back the stolen books, not the thief responsible, Koakuma. Though since Alice is here I..." Patchouli suddenly started then stared directly at Marisa. Alice put her hand lightly on the witch's shoulder to keep her from backing up more.

Despite how serious the matter was, seeing Patchouli totally and utterly dumbstruck was one of Alice's secret pleasures. The way realization slowly dawned across the elder magician's face was somehow priceless. It started out as simple suspicion, turned to inspection, then shock, curiosity and bitter annoyance before finally settling on pure disbelief. "You. How did you do it?!" Patchouli choked out.

Marisa flinched at the question. "I don't know. I fucked up somehow."

Patchouli started to tremble. "You. You. You. You completed both magician rituals? By accident?!"

Patchouli started rapidly whispering and a magic symbol formed around her feet. Marisa yelped and ducked under a nearby table, while Koakuma teleported away. Alice simply snarled and flicked her wrist to drop one of her suicide dolls on Patchouli's arm. "You can kill her later! Right now I want to find out what's going on."

A fit of coughing seized Patchouli and the magical runes faded. Marisa poked her head out as the elder wizard sat down. "Fine," Patchy muttered. "I suppose this is something that needs study, no matter how much it insults me."

"Wait a second Patchy," Marisa said as she moved back up next to Alice. "You said I completed both rituals? Shashoku and Shachuu?"

"Yes." Patchouli replied sharply. "Something that should be impossible."

"Yeah well I should be dead too," Marisa muttered as she pulled out some papers and tossed them on the table. Alice could help but lean forward as Patchouli moved to get a look at them. "My notes. I used all the ingredients as written."

The three all crowded around the table, previous threats forgotten as they poured over the papers. Alice had to admit Marisa's mastery of potion craft was impressive. It was vastly better than hers, and judging by the way Patchouli was occasionally referencing another book, it was probably better than Patchouli's as well. Alice had always suspected Patchouli was an alchemist who worked better with non organic compounds.

Still the basics were easy enough even for Alice to figure out. "You're right, Marisa. That much hemlock would kill a human, and sakaki berries are deadly to us youkai. I have no idea how you're still breathing."

"But I'm not dead," Marisa pointed out.

"I can fix that if you want," Patchouli muttered.

"Ah, it seems matters weren't as bad as you suggested, Koakuma."

The trio looked up to see Sakuya floating down, with the little devil behind her. The maid had a serving tray with a pot of tea held in one hand, while she idly flipped a knife in the other. "I brought tea if you aren't actually planning on killing each other right now. It was also suggested I might wish to stick around for the conversation?"

Alice and Shanghai both turned to look at Marisa, the doll folding her arms as she did. Marisa looked away and pursed her lips. Alice wondered if Marisa had finally realized how insulting complaining about being a youkai was to a bunch of youkai, or if she was still just angry about her weakness.

Sakuya just put down the tray and poured the tea silently. She was an expert in waiting people out, much better than Yumeko. Of course their masters were quite different as well, Alice reflected.

Finally Marisa sighed and hung her head. "So yeah. I wanted to chat with you Sakuya."

Sakuya blinked at that. "Well I suppose I could take a short break. Please feel free to speak what's on your mind."

"Well..." Marisa looked over to Alice and Patchouli before quickly looking away. "Mind if we walk and talk a bit?"

Sakuya nodded. "Of course not." She bowed to Patchouli. "With your leave?" Patchouli waved the two away before turning back to Marisa's notes. Alice gave the two a polite nod as they wandered off.

As soon as Marisa rounded the corner Koakuma pulled out another book. "Ah. I brought you the encyclopedia of eastern potion making as well Miss Patchouli. I figured you might want it around now."

Patchouli gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you Koakuma. I have no idea why the hydrangeas had to be blue, but Marisa was specific about it."

Shanghai hid a grin while Alice raised an eyebrow. "So you admit she's better than you at potions?"

Patchouli grunted. "And other item enchantments. I knew I should have studied those more, but it was so time consuming and alchemy seemed like a better use of my resources."

"The perils of being a magician without a specialty." Alice replied.

Patchouli flipped the book open harshly. "It would be easier to accept if her magical studies weren't all over the place. I'd never met someone so deserving of the term hedge magician before. It stings my pride, even if Marisa is a master at it."

Alice smiled. "Well perhaps you could use some stress reduction." She quickly dropped a silence rune on the elder magician. "Koakuma maybe a backrub will help your mistress."

Patchouli's eye's opened wide, but Koakuma was already in motion. "A fine idea~! Now don't worry Miss Patchouli. I promise you I won't use my full power."

It took Patchouli half a second to dispel the rune preventing the magician from ordering Koakuma to stop. By then of course Koakuma already had her hands on Patchouli's shoulders and chest against the magician's back. "Koakuma that's no- ah!"

Alice sat down and tried not to look too smug at Patchouli's expression as she melted into the table. "I really must get you to teach me how to do that someday, Koakuma."

-

Marisa walked silently along Sakuya. Every now and then she found herself glancing over at the maid. She knew what she wanted to say, but how could she put her feelings into words?

Finally Sakuya stopped walking and turned to look directly at her. Marisa couldn't help but flinch away from the older woman's gaze. "I see. So you became a magician." Sakuya said. "I thought I was just sensing one of Patchouli's experiments, but I guess I was wrong."

"For a dabbler you're pretty good." Marisa couldn't bring herself to look at Sakuya's eyes to see the maid's emotions. "It's... well... I didn't want to become a magician. The potion was supposed to make me immortal, but not a magician."

"Hm?" Sakuya's sound of surprise helped banish some of the butterflies in Marisa's stomach. She looked over to see Sakuya tapping her knife belt and looking up in contemplation. "That seems strange, but I suppose stranger things have happened."

The maid's eyes opened wide for a bit, then she looked back at Marisa in sympathy. "Ah I see. You understood what it meant to be human. That's why you were trying to avoid becoming a youkai."

Marisa let out a long sigh and sank down next to one of the shelves. "Human? I dunno. But, well, I wanted to give other people who were weak a goal to aim for." Sakuya sat down next to her as she continued. "When I was a kid, when I was with Mima or even just when I was flying around on my own I never realized how big a deal it was. I mean, here I was, a kid with a little more magic power than average, and I was flying around Gensoukyo beating up master youkai right alongside the Hakurei maiden."

Marisa stared up at the crimson ceiling. "I think it was Byakuren who finally made me figure it out. When she told me youkai were oppressed, I thought of all the humans who spent  
their lives completely at the mercy of youkai. Sure it's not a big a deal if you've got the special magic bloodline or you're a god, but to those of us who have to train for years to be able to fight and survive it means a lot!"

"I imagine people with the ability to master time would fall into the 'not that big a deal category," Sakuya stated.

Marisa winced. She accepted the maid's cold stare with her own eyes. "Sorry Sakuya. I didn't mean to hit that.".

She sighed. "That's actually why I wanted to talk to you before Reimu." She matched her gold eyes to Sakuya's blue ones. "You know what it means to lose part of your humanity against your will."

Sakuya nodded, then closed her eyes. "Yes... I do know that." The maid's eyes flickered open again. "But I'm afraid Marisa my advice won't help you much. Because the humanity I lost was the one part you were going to throw away. I don't hate you for it, but you must understand, a human who doesn't die naturally is barely a human at all."

"Well, you're still a human," Marisa protested. "You just work for a devil. That's why the villagers can't relate."

"It's much more than that, Marisa," Sakuya replied. "Mokou is human. Keine is half human. Even Meiling was once human. In fact she said at one point that any children she has will naturally be human as well."

Marisa blinked at that. "Really? Meiling? Isn't she older than China itself?"

"Not quite. But she knew the immortals who left to become the first Lunarians," Sakuya stated with a smile. "Still, you can see how time changes someone. As the centuries pass it's impossible to not become distant from humanity."

Marisa let her head flop back against the shelves. "So you're saying I was pursuing something impossible to begin with."

"I'm afraid so."

Marisa groaned. It figured. She never should have trusted a youkai's word on the matter. Even if that youkai was Yukari. Then again it was nice knowing the youkai sage could be so uninformed on humans.

She drummed her fingers on the floor. "I still would have liked to stay a human. Now it looks like I switched teams because humans aren't good enough."

Sakuya nodded, then leaned back herself. "To be honest, I'm one of the few humans who would think like that. I'm afraid that within a century no one will remember you as a human Marisa."

Marisa turned to face the maid as Sakuya put her hand on her shoulder. "However you can still make a difference if you want. Weren't you trained by a youkai yourself? One with hatred for humans no less. Why not take that role up?"

"That's boring nonsense. Where's the fun if you can't blow people up yourself?" Marisa muttered.

Sakuya laughed. "Ah that's our Marisa." The maid stood and dusted herself off. "Well, you'll have plenty of time to figure out where you stand in Gensoukyo now. If it's a big deal for now, remember, you can just lie. Reimu's the only other human you spend time with who will notice."

Marisa pulled herself up as well. "I'm not looking forward to that either," she said.

"Hm, I think you should worry more about Patchouli killing you in a fit of jealousy," Sakuya replied with a grin. "She takes pride in her magical abilities, and she hates being shown up by 'a country witch' as she so delicately puts it. She had enough trouble coming to terms with my ability."

"Huh. I figured she'd be laughing at me." Marisa dusted off her hat. "At least there's some silver lining to this cloud. I should get back and annoy Patchy more."


	2. Chapter 2

Patchouli groaned and shifted in her seat to try to get her spine to return to a solid state. Koakuma's backrubs were... intense. It didn't help that the little devil had decided to hang onto her back. She turned her eyes on Alice, who looked far too smug. "Treachery on all sides."

Alice chuckled lightly as Shanghai stuck out her tongue. "Sorry Patchouli. I had to make a deal with the devil earlier. And I'm afraid you were the only acceptable sacrifice."

"You didn't like it Miss Patchouli?" Koakuma asked. Patchouli idly wondered how Koakuma managed to sound sultry and hurt at the same time. Perhaps it was an innate skill for her kind. Fortunately over eighty years of living with the little devil had allowed Patchouli to gain the skill to keep a straight face.

"It distracted me from the papers," Patchouli replied. She pushed herself somewhat upright, then moved one of Marisa's formula notes to the center of the table. "I still want to understand this nonsense after all."

Alice nodded. "You're right." She leaned over to peer at the paper Patchouli had selected out. "Do you think the answer is here?"

"Yes." Patchouli tapped the intricate circular design that took up most of the middle of the paper. "This is the spell Marisa cast to enchant the potion. The one truth of potion crafting and alchemy is that without magic, the results are just a slurry. If magic isn't required it's mere herbalism."

"Really?" Shanghai folded her arms as Alice blinked. "Odd that none of my books mention this."

Patchouli felt Koakuma's nod of assent from behind her. "The terms are a little unofficial. It was more important back when the church was around. That way you knew which potions you could make without revealing yourself as a witch."

"Ah that explains it." Alice turned back to the paper as Shanghai grinned. "Being a witch in Makai is a sign of power, as opposed to a trip to the stake. You wouldn't want to advertise what you could do without having magic of your own."

"That makes good sense." Patchouli shifted again to try to get Koakuma to stop pressing so closely against her back. Fortunately Koakuma took the hint and found herself a chair.

"In any case I think if we untangle the central spell I think we can figure out what happened." Patchouli looked down at the runes with a hiss of distaste. "Though I can't stand what she does to the Hebrew language. It's nearly blasphemy."

"Actually a lot of the time it is blasphemy," Koakuma said cheerily. "It's one of her good points."

"Ah, I didn't know you had it in you Marisa. I thought you were rather agnostic." Patchouli looked up at Sakuya's voice to see the maid and Marisa walking back towards them. A certain amount of spring had returned to the young witch's step Patchouli noted, along with the normal mischievous gleam in the eye.

"I figure if any god cares they'll complain. That's what Kanako did after all." Marisa dropped into a chair. "Anyway that's a double spell there Patchy. I used numerology and the syllable ordering in Japanese to get two stanzas into one."

Patchoui stared in disbelief at Marisa's smug expression. That girl really had no idea what she was doing did she? Yes you could pack more spell into a smaller area that way, and admittedly it would be quite helpful for a number of the more complex youkai spells she was researching but... Patchouli shook her head to clear the idea out. Mixing alphabets and numerological systems was a recipe for disaster.

Sakuya gave the group a bow. "Well I fear the conversation will be too complex for me to contribute, so I'll take my leave. Farewell."

"Thank you for the tea, Sakuya," Alice said. Marisa and Koakuma just waved. Patchouli simply returned to looking at the paper. Perhaps Marisa's odd spellcraft had something to do with it...

"I'm curious Marisa, why do you use Hebrew?" Koakuma asked. "You have no faith at all in the God of the plagues, and you don't use a Makai style of magic."

"I could ask the same of you ya know," Marisa said. "Why do you Makai people use it? Latin's easier, and you're more eastern than western in the end."

Patchouli looked up over at Alice. "I have to admit, that is a good question Marisa."

Shanghai hid behind her owner as Marisa and Koakuma also turned their gaze to Alice. The puppeteer blinked a few times, then closed her eyes to think. "Hm... Why use Hebrew... Ah! Now I remember." Alice pointed at Koakuma. "Mother said it was easier to create demons like her with Hebrew. The language just works better for them, and they have an easier time in the outside world. She uses Chinese for the more eastern demons."

Patchouli nodded. That made sense. She turned to Koakuma. "So that's why you claim to be Jewish."

Koakuma turned her head, sniffed and put on a pair of prop glasses. "I do not pretend to be Jewish. I am a practicing demon of the Jewish faith. I don't commit sins on Yom Kippur just for fun you know."

"You do seem to have a lot of fun doing it though," Patchouli replied. Patchouli remembered some of those attempts at sinning well. Admittedly it was much more amusing now that Koakuma could split her attention between multiple victims.

"Was that when you had the pork banquet?" Marisa asked suspiciously.

Alice nodded while Shanghai moved to inspect Koakuma's new glasses look. "Don't forget those cheeseburgers specifically made with the mothers milk."

Marisa shuddered. Apparently she still hadn't gotten over the accident with the bacon grease that had happened afterwards. It hadn't actually been Koakuma's fault that time but... "So Patchy, what did you find."

Patchouli looked back to the spell ring. "I found that your numerology gives me headaches." She scanned over the Hebrew a few more times before shaking her head. "You should just write out your secondary spell. It will save us time."

Marisa smirked, but the expression rapidly faded. "Point. Should I put it in the hirigana or kanji?"

"Both please," Alice said. "If this was a side effect then it could be from either system."

"Right." Marisa wrote out the two lines in her 'art' penmanship. Patchouli had heard that it was terrible calligraphy from Reimu, but it was a damn sight more readable in Patchouli's mind. And far better than Marisa's normal scrawl.

The four moved in to peer at the paper. "Hm..." Alice cocked her head. "That's a pretty good limitation. You specifically prevented the spell from performing Shashoku while leaving alternative paths open. Weren't you a little worried about burning yourself out though?"

Marisa pointed at the outer ring. "First rule Mima taught me, always keep your spells from pulling more power than you got. Doesn't always work but it's a good safety tip."

Patchouli raised an eyebrow. "That is good advice. I admit to skipping it sometimes for more complex spells due to the interactions, but-"

"But you should use it all the time Miss Patchouli," Koakuma's stated sternly. "You remember what happened in Makai."

"That wasn't a mistake in the spell limitation. It was a mistake in the results," Patchouli lied. She really hated being reminded of that error. To be fair that specific limiter wouldn't have helped. After all it was more a matter of numbers but-

"Ah!"

Patchouli stared down at the kanji line. Of course. "Koakuma, please figure out the numerology of the stroke count in Marisa's little sub spell here."

Marisa looked confused, while Alice and Shanghai both started in surprise. "You don't mean..."

"It's one. Wait!" Koakuma gasped then snatched up the paper, eyes running back and forth over the lines. "It's... exactly one hundred."

Patchouli nodded. "And that explains everything."

Marisa and Alice both stared at her in confusion. Patchouli stretched a little in victory. It was good to put the youngsters in their place every now and then. "This is the danger of working with multiple systems. If you use numerology one way there's a chance it will work backwards as well." Patchouli tapped the circle. "Normally if you ask a spell to do something impossible it simply fails. This spell should have failed, since it's impossible to become immortal via normal magic without becoming a magician. However you gave the spell a loophole."

"A loophole?" Marisa shook her head. "How? What does having exactly one hundred strokes mean?"

Patchouli scrawled 100 onto the paper. "In numerology pure exponentials of ten have greater meaning. They are both one and more than one. In this case you have a one going through two transitions. Thus..."

The other three women (and one doll) looked at each other then back to her. "Could you perhaps explain that again?" Alice asked.

"Perhaps a picture will suffice." Patchouli tapped her hand on the table and an illusion of the magician card popped up. "Card number one, transformed twice."

Patchouli enjoyed the silence as her reasoning slowly set in. Alice was first to realize it, as Shanghai's hand went slack. Koakuma and Marisa went slack jawed seconds later. "You mean I made it magically impossible to complete the spell as I intended, so it abused numerology to justify skipping up straight to full ageless magician?" Marisa sputtered.

"Yes." Patchouli tapped the number again. "Highly improbable. Near impossible I'd say. But with magic anything is technically possible. The sudden shift probably cured the poisons in your bloodstream. That must be how you survived the process."

There was another round of silence as everyone considered the matter.

"You are the luckiest person I've ever met, Marisa," Alice said. "It's the only way you aren't dead."

"Apparently so." Marisa sighed. "I was hoping this was because of the position of the stars or some other power beyond my control. Not because of some magical nonsense buried in my spell."

"To be fair, I don't think anyone could have seen that coming Marisa," Koakuma said. "I mean, it is something of a stretch."

Patchouli looked down at the spell again. While it rankled her traditional aesthetics it was a masterwork of potion craft and spell design. Marisa had to have spent years tweaking it over and over. Especially the rune placement. It was a dedication to the craft that most magicians just didn't have.

She looked up from the notes to Gensoukyo's newest magician. It was time to come to a decision. She had an idea where Alice stood, and she knew Koakuma had a very strong interest in the thief as well. At this point the only thing standing in her way was pride.

She nodded to herself. She wasn't Remilia. She could take some hits to her pride.

She turned her chair so she could face both Alice and Marisa. "Well then. Now that you've become a full magician Marisa I have an offer to make."

"Eh?" The Alice and Marisa spun to face her. "An offer?"

Koakuma's eyes widened and her headwings started flapping happily. "You mean-!"

"Yes." Patchouli steepled her hands. "I think it would be to our mutual benefit if we formed a coven."

The two younger magicians stared at her a bit in surprise. "Seriously?" Alice asked. "Ritual pact and everything?"

"Do people even do that anymore?" Marisa shook her head. "Sure I'm not exactly a magical history scholar, but haven't damn near all the covens broken up by now?"

Patchouli sniffed. "The best witches actually did things. Performed experiments and altered the destiny of nations. Unfortunately doing things instead of hiding in the far realms tends to have a higher attrition rate. Most magicians over a thousand years are barely worthy of the name. That Byakuren woman outdoes them, and she's quit researching the arts."

Alice raised an eyebrow at that. "So we should join you because it increases our chances of being killed?"

"If either of you two was that worried about being offed by a mob of angry villagers you'd have kept a much lower profile." Patchouli stated. "The only one of us who could disappear at this point is you Alice, and I imagine you would find that incredibly dull."

"I suppose..." Alice leaned back in her chair. "So what would this entail then?"

Patchouli nodded to Koakuma. "The contract if you would?"

"Of course!" Koakuma sprang to her feet and pulled three sheets of magical writings from her pocket and placed them down on the table. Apparently she'd been keeping it on her at all times, Patchouli mused. The little devil obviously liked the idea.

As Marisa and Alice inspected their copies, Koakuma dragged over a blackboard and pulled a pointer from her pocket. "As you can see this is a very weak contract. It doesn't disallow combat between the members, though it reinforces the spell card rules. Gensoukyo is no fun without a little action after all. Even if it's not my kind of action. I mean it would be so much better if..."

The three magicians sighed as one. "Get on with it," Patchouli muttered.

Koakuma coughed. "The main points of the compact are as follows. Research materials are shared between the members, though spells can be kept secret. That means you two can borrow books, but we get to take them back whenever we want."

"That does sound superior to the normal method," Alice replied.

Marisa folded her arms behind her head. "I dunno. I kinda like the shooting part of borrowing. Though I suppose I can pick a fight whenever."

"If you want to blast off Koakuma's clothes I'm sure she'd be willing to oblige you," Patchouli commented. She smirked as Marisa broke into sputtered protests. Fortunately Marisa was behind her so the younger witch couldn't see the expression. But since Shanghai was altering between amusement and annoyance she signalled Koakuma to continue.

Koakuma winked then tapped another point. "Since it's a ritual binding you'll also be able to combine your magics more efficiently. If you want to that is. You'll also find it easier to call upon energy sources that one of you is familiar with. So Alice and Marisa will find elemental magics slightly easier, while Miss Patchouli will have a better time with emotion based magics.

"That does sound useful," Alice said. "I've had issues with elemental spirits in the past."

"Also as part of the spell you three will be able to locate each other at any time with concentration. Of course it's not exact, and it won't pass your normal scrying wards, so no worries about anyone looking in at a bad time."

Koakuma stood up straight and tall and grinned widely. "And finally you all get me~!"

Patchouli coughed and spun to face the other two magicians. "I'd best explain it before Koakuma finds the proper double entendres."

"Aw, Miss Patchouli," Koakuma pouted. "I promise none of it will be proper." Patchouli ignored her.

"What that means is you'll be sharing the familiar bond with me," Patchouli stated. "It's something Mai worked out with Yuki. We used it to maintain my bond with Koakuma's sister Elle while still giving those two the status as her master."

Alice and Marisa nodded in understanding. "Seems like Mai really knows her demons." Marisa said. "Too bad she didn't have any slave types when I went against her in Makai. Fight was kinda dull with her just sticking to ice chunks."

"Anyway I'm not giving you Master status over Koakuma, just a link." Patchouli narrowed her eyes to make the matter clear. Koakuma was hers first until the little devil complained otherwise. "Still that does mean she'll be disposed to aid you, and have the innate mental connection to know how best to go about it."

She turned to Marisa. "Though it also means she'll know exactly how far she can push her jokes before you get really mad. You'd best be prepared for that."

"Hmph." Marisa rolled her eyes. She wasn't aware of Koakuma's true power. Oh well. Patchouli wasn't going to tell her.

Marisa tapped the table a few times. "Right, so why us?" Alice rested her head on her hands, obviously interested in the answer as well.

Patchouli first nodded towards the puppeteer. "Alice's choice should be obvious. You possibly have the most raw power among the magicians of Gensoukyo, if you ever decided to actually cut loose. In addition you have a unique magical talent in doll creation and manipulation. I don't think any other magician possesses your artistry. Finally I enjoy your presence."

She turned to Marisa. "Meanwhile you have a staggering array of skills for someone as haphazardly taught as yourself. Your ability to create new magics and steal other people's spells is both infuriating and terrifying. And your mastery of danmaku combat is comparable to the shrine maiden's." Patchouli sighed. "Finally this is the only way I'm getting my books back now that you're immortal."

Marisa laughed. "Really? I figured you'd be threatening to kill me."

"Koakuma would pout at me if I actually killed you," Patchouli replied.

Koakuma nodded. "For weeks. Months even."

"Well we can't have that," Alice commented. "So then, why only us?"

Patchouli nodded. "Well partially because there's no one else really worth inviting in. Byakuren has abandoned worldly concerns. Mai and Yuki aren't leaving their mansion in Makai. Ellen isn't the type to bind herself to a group, even lightly. Marisa's tutor Mima remains dead, which sadly disqualifies her even if she was moving about. And no one else we've met is worthy of the invitation."

"But primarily because we are uncommonly well suited for it." Patchouli looked both the other magicians in the eye. "We are all active in Gensoukyo's affairs to some degree. We have similar styles of magic, but different focuses. And we form an auspicious grouping."

Koakuma smiled. "Three ladies. The spinner, the weaver and the cutter," Koakuma pointed to Marisa, Alice and Patchouli in turn.

Shanghai fluttered around as Alice lowered her head in thought. "I see. This does make sense..."

Marisa rocked back and forth on her chair chewing her lip. Patchouli turned towards her. If Marisa agreed Alice was sure to follow.

Finally Marisa allowed her chair to fall to the ground with a thump. She looked up and Patchouli was surprised to see the young witches eyes glowing brightly. "I agree on one condition. My apprentices get access to the library too."

"You're planning on taking apprentices, Marisa?" Alice asked. Shanghai moved to flutter around the gold eyed witch. "What brought this on?"

Marisa pulled her hat brim down a bit. "It's just a thought for now. I'm not planning it soon. And don't worry about me starting a school or anything. But I wanna keep my options open."

Patchouli nodded. Well it's not like someone could do more damage than Marisa. "I'd agree to that. Alice? Your thoughts?"

Alice closed her eyes while Shanghai paced. "I think... I want to talk to someone first."

"Eh?" Patchouli blinked in surprise.

Marisa looked equally confused. "You're gonna ask Shinki?"

"No." Alice looked over at Koakuma. "I think we need to have a long talk Koakuma."

"EH!?" Koakuma flinched away as Alice's gaze fell upon her. "Why?"

Alice raised an eyebrow as Shanghai put her hands on her hips. "I believe I told you we'd have to have a talk earlier, yes?"

Koakuma's eyes opened wide. "Ah! You're right." The little devil hopped to her feet. "Lead on Lady Alice."

Seeing that her familiar was no longer in panic mode Patchouli relaxed a little as well. "Then I guess we'll wait for you here."

Marisa seemed just as confused as Patchouli felt, but the witch just waved. "Have fun you two."

Alice gave them both a nod. As the two left Alice said over her shoulder. "You two might consider talking to each other while we're out. Especially given you'll be seeing even more of each other. And of us."

Patchouli blinked and looked at Marisa. The other witch just leaned back and looked at the ceiling. Patchouli sighed. This was going to be an... interesting chat.


	3. Chapter 3

Koakuma followed after Alice into the library. She tried to stay calm, but Shanghai's stare from over Alice's shoulder made it felt like she was being escorted to prison. Imagining all the fun things that could be done with handcuffs helped, but only a little.

Finally they reached another lounge area. The two sat down in chairs across from each other, Koakuma taking the one with holes for her wings.

A few moments passed as Shanghai flitted back and forth across the area. Koakuma wasn't really sure what Alice wanted to ask. Or perhaps it was more she didn't know what Alice wanted to ask first.

Finally Alice sighed. "Well let's start with the basics. I always assumed your interest in Marisa was more... work related."

Koakuma blinked. "Well there's some of that. As the Librarian demon I'm attracted to everyone who seeks knowledge. But it's more than that. She's got so many great qualities. She's fun to tease, and wonderfully clever in hilarious ways. She's an irreverent thief, and a general nuisance." Koakuma smiled at Alice. "You like her for those qualities too right?"

Alice frowned at the litany. "Somehow I don't think that's why I'm attracted to her. In fact those seem like a lot of her more annoying qualities."

Koakuma shrugged. "Well I suppose you'd say you liked her determined attitude and carefree nature, but they're the same thing right?"

"That's..." Alice's frown turned into a sigh. "Well that's arguable. Still I see what you're saying." Alice smiled a little. "And it is fun to sweep the rug out from under her."

"See. I knew you had fine taste Lady Alice." Koakuma replied.

Alice tapped her fingers against the table. "And I imagine you have an attraction towards Patchouli for the same reason. You enjoy trying to break her cool."

Koakuma felt a warmth run up her wings. "Well yes, that's fun. But well..." Koakuma couldn't help but grin foolishly. "She's also the only person who called upon me for my work skills, instead of just eye candy that could help around the mansion."

Alice's expression softened into a smile. "I see." Shanghai covered her cheeks and fluttered back and forth a bit as the puppeteer hummed in thought. "Yes Patchouli is uniquely romantic. Not always in a good way, but always unique."

Koakuma's headwings twitched a bit at that. "Yeah, the dragon heart was entirely her idea. Er, as was the tome of chocolate summoning. I sometimes wish she'd ask me for hints."

"I think it's a certain part of her charm," Alice replied. "It at least helps her stand out. Besides you'd have suggested a book on seduction spells."

Koakuma crossed her arms. "That's nonsense! I'd have told her to give you a book on binding spells."

Alice shook her head. "As if that was any better." Alice leaned back. "Still I think I see it now. Neither of them care about our status, for good or ill. They don't care that you're a lowly succubi, and they don't care that I'm Alice, The Girl of Death."

The puppeteer looked out into the distance while Shanghai paced, then turned towards Koakuma. The little devil fought to keep from squirming as Alice's gaze focused in on her. "And with that we come to the big problem. Where do we stand, Koakuma?"

Koakuma tried to focus on Shanghai. "What do you mean?

"You know very well what I mean." Alice put her hands on the table. "I'm quite aware you're trying to set up a group relationship between the four of us. And while setting up this coven isn't going to make that a certainty, the four of us being in close proximity will mean we'll have to start facing our personal issues sooner rather than later." Alice held up two fingers. "The first issue of course is the fact that Marisa and Patchouli don't exactly mesh well." Koakuma fought to keep from flinching as Alice pointed at her. "The second issue is that you are afraid of me."

Koakuma felt her wings twitching she tried not to let it show. "That's not..." As Alice's face fell the little devil could tell her lies weren't working. Koakuma felt herself shrink a little. "I'm not afraid of you exactly Lady Alice." Koakuma tried to avoid cringing at Alice's frown. "It's just... well you call my creator goddess 'Mom.' It's a little unnerving."

Alice's expression didn't improve, so Koakuma pressed on. "No honestly. I'm not worried that you'll kill me personally. It's just hard for me not worry about the in laws." Which was completely the truth. If Alice could stand Marisa's schizophrenic attention anything Koakuma could throw at her would be fine. Angering Lady Shinki on the other hand usually involved waking up with a sword in your head.

Koakuma sat and sweated as Alice stared into her soul. Possibly literally, given the magician's focus on creating life. Shanghai's glare muted the seriousness a little, and Koakuma was used to annoying people vastly more powerful than her. The stakes were rarely this high however.

Koakuma jumped as Alice slapped herself on the forehead then slumped onto the table. "Oh dear lord, I'm becoming my mother."

"Well that's not entirely true Alice. I mean, you'd need to go up a cup size at least before that." Koakuma ducked under the bullet that Shanghai fired at her, then smiled at Alice's glare. "You could also smile more."

Alice glared at her a bit more, than smiled. "I suppose I'll accept that for now." The puppeteer straightened up in her chair. "It still doesn't exactly fix things you know."

Now it was Koakuma's turn to sigh. "I know." The little devil looked up at Alice with her best puppy dog eyes. "But we can try to work things out right? I mean, we both share the same loves. And I know you're dying to learn the many ways doll strings can be used for-mph!" Koakuma flinched back as a plush doll smacked her right in the mouth.

"Yes, yes, thank you for showing me you're trying not to treat me that much differently from anyone else," Alice muttered. The puppeteer shook her head. "Well I suppose we'll see where we stand later. After all I'm still undecided on how much idiocy my mind can take." Alice mentally retrieved her doll while brushing off her mantle. Koakuma smiled to herself. Maybe she'd never fully get over the differences in their status, but Alice was still plenty of fun to tease.

Then she sobered up. "Ah, there's still the big problem. Do you think we should go back and make sure they aren't fighting?"

Alice looked down at the ground and raised her hands in supplication. "Mother might have to personally intervene to stop those two from fighting. If they can just keep it to words instead of danmaku I'll consider it a victory."

"Yeah..." Koakuma tried to gain some semblance of hope from the fact that at least the two liked fighting.

* * *

Today was turning out to be an odd day, Marisa thought as she stared up at Voile's ceiling. Better than the last couple of days, but still something of a mess.

"So I take it you're going to pretend I'm not here while we wait for them to return?"

Marisa looked down to see Patchouli frowning at her. "In case you hadn't noticed, I haven't had the best of days. I figured you weren't looking for a fight, but if you want me to bug you Patchy..."

Marisa's eyebrows shot up as Patchouli grimaced and nodded. "As Alice pointed out, we will be speaking with each other more frequently. Which means we should clear the air between us a little now."

"There's not exactly much to clear is there?" Marisa shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "You don't like how I borrow your books. I like reading. Won't this pact stop most of it?"

Marisa sat up straighter as Patchouli put down the book she was carrying and stared directly at her. "Marisa Kirisame. I have toiled for over one hundred years to build the greatest personal library of knowledge in the physical world. As one of the few magicians alive from the outside world I personally created entire tomes of spells by myself. At great personal cost I mastered the spells to stop my aging before my thirtieth birthday." Patchouli stood up. "Meanwhile you stole my books and spells. Then slapped together a magic potion that surpassed my achievements by accident!"

Marisa got the feeling Patchouli's issues with her might be a little bigger than what she previously thought.

"Er, well... I can kinda see where you'd be a little annoyed by that." Marisa shrugged and frowned. "But I won't apologize for doing everything I can to become a better magician. Especially since I started behind to begin with. I suppose not giving your stuff back when you asked for it might've been a little too far, but I'm not gonna hold back just because you don't wanna lose."

Marisa locked her eyes to Patchouli's as they glared at each other across the table. Fortunately for Marisa, Patchouli had the physical presence of a wet beach towel. Unfortunately Patchouli was used to having Flandre use her vampire intimidation tricks on her. Neither budged.

In the end Patchouli smirked. "Well I suppose we are similar in that one way. Whatever it takes to become the greatest magician alive. Though I imagine we have rather different ideas on what that means." Patchouli relaxed back into her chair, and Marisa followed suit. "But you understand my pride as a youkai demands I humble you at least once."

"Ha!" Marisa smirked back. This was more her style. "Sure, anytime. But you'd better be okay with the results, no matter how it ends."

"Hm? You think I'm planning to lose?" Patchouli replied.

Marisa wagged her finger at the elder magician. "You might know more about magical theory, but I know more about fighting and losing." She sighed. "If you fight Reimu a lot you gotta get used to losing after all."

Marisa shrugged. "Anyway it's okay to hate losing, but you gotta be able to take a loss." She frowned at Patchouli. "That's why Alice never goes all out anymore. She can't take a loss like that again. So if you do wanna go at it fine. But don't pick a fight in any field where you'll regret losing forever. I ain't gonna hold back no matter what's on the line."

Patchouli snorted. "I've bargained with devils Marisa Kirisame. Don't tell me how to hedge my bets." The elder magician sighed. "The only place I couldn't stand losing is the one thing that isn't a competition."

"Huh?" Marisa started then gave Patchouli a long look. They were in a contest right now? What could that be?

A few seconds later her cheeks flushed as the answer came to her. "Hey now! You aren't after Alice just because-"

"Don't even insinuate that nonsense," Patchouli snapped. "My appreciation for Alice is purely unrelated to you." Marisa shivered a bit as an evil smile spread over Patchouli's face. "However I would be remiss to not state that I find the idea of forcing you to beg me to join a more... intimate coven to be a source of great personal amusement."

Marisa felt her face getting even warmer. There was- This was- Alice wouldn't let- Well no she might... And what would Marisa do if Patchouli did...

"Well, you two haven't started a danmaku battle. I suppose that means your talk went well."

Marisa spun around, putting those thoughts out of her brain. It wasn't gonna happen, so she wasn't going to think about it! "Alice! You're back. Fun chat?"

* * *

Alice felt her eyebrow raising in surprise as Marisa turned to greet her. The black white witch had that unique expression that suggested someone had just embarrassed her. Meanwhile Patchouli was looking mildly amused. Perhaps there was some hope for this coven, if nothing else.

She dropped down into the chair while Koakuma moved to sit next to her master. "Well, I've made my decision. If we are all still agreed?"

Patchouli nodded. "Marisa?"

Marisa shook her head, then picked up her copy of the deal. "So we just sign then?"

"Sign your True Name." Patchouli frowned. "On that note you should probably look into getting yourself a real title or something Marisa, since your name is somewhat well known."

Alice looked askance at the document. "True name? I hope there's some sort of concealment spell on the papers."

"Of course." Patchouli sniffed. "The spell will alter our signatures to fit our pseudonyms afterwards. I won't even get to see them. Anything else would be far too dangerous."

"Darn. I was hoping to hear what name would make 'Patchouli Knowledge', seem like a reasonable pseudonym," Marisa commented. "Well then, if that's it..." The black white witch quickly scrawled some kanji on the paper followed by an arcane rune Alice had never seen before.

Patchouli blinked then nodded. "It seems I underestimated you again." The elder magician looked down and scrawled her own signature on the paper.

Alice stretched before picking up the pen and quickly writing out her own true name. First, the name she'd once had as a little girl, then her title from Makai, 'The girl of death'. As she finished the words glowed then shifted into "Alice Margatroid."

As the final glow faded Alice felt a strange tingle flow through her. It wasn't much, but she could feel her abilities being enhanced. It was a very strange feeling because it didn't come with any sense of increased power, just greater skill. She also somehow knew that Marisa, Koakuma and Patchouli were not only close, but in good health.

"Whoa." Marisa shook her head. "That's gonna take some getting used to."

"Hm... It's not too different from gaining a familiar," Patchouli remarked offhand. "On that note, I take it that the spell worked for you Koakuma?"

Koakuma smiled broadly. "Yep! I can tell you want to get a book to record the spell's effects down, Alice wants to start researching how to better flameproof your dolls, and Marisa wants me not to notice the interesting thoughts she was having right when we entered the room."

"What!" Marisa flushed crimson as everyone turned to look at her. "That's not what I was thinking at all! I was worrying about how I was gonna explain this to Reimu, not that nonsense Patchy was going on about!"

"Aha! So I was right!" Koakuma crowed. Marisa blinked then put her forehead against the table. Patchouli just coughed and hid behind her book.

Alice shook her head and sighed. "I see Patchouli's warning was perhaps not as explicit as it could have been." Maybe it was a good thing Koakuma was a little afraid of her. Still she could sympathize with Marisa's plight. "Well I shall leave you to thinking up your excuses to Reimu for a bit. Koakuma, could you show me to where the elemental enhancement treatises are?"

"Sure!" Koakuma replied sweetly. Patchouli waved as they walked away. Alice was pleased to note that her new power wasn't affected by distance.

They were about halfway across the library when Koakuma said, "I also noticed you really wanted to know what Marisa was fantasizing about. Would you like me to use some of my special spells to find out?"

Alice kept walking as Shanghai whapped the little devil upside the head with a book. It was probably safest to set limits quickly. Especially since they were now connected.

Still this was going to be an interesting couple of years dealing with everything. She was going to have a lot to write home to mother about.

* * *

Marisa landed just outside the shrine entrance and paused. She'd spent the flight over from the library trying to think up how to start the conversation, and in the end she'd thought up nothing.

"Hm?"

Reimu appeared under the torii, broom in hand. "So, what are you doing here today?"

Marisa forced a smile. "Nothing much. Just felt like dropping by. You actually sweeping today?"

"I was, but I'm done with it." Reimu sighed. "I suppose you'll want tea then?"

"Yep!" Marisa nodded. Tea was a good idea. It'd give her more time to think up a response.

As she followed Reimu up through the torii gates she felt an odd tingling, but as she passed through it faded. It seemed the shrine still had some elements of holiness about it. Still that was the only oddity. She followed Reimu around back and plopped herself on the porch just as always. Reimu went inside to get the tea kettle, while the shrine's black and white cat wandered over and plopped down on top of her feet.

Reimu wandered back out and put down two cups of tea. "So, that's really you Marisa. For a little while I thought it was a tanuki playing tricks on me again. I didn't think you'd go the youkai magician route."

Marisa groaned and leaned back. Of course she couldn't hide it from Reimu. "Yeah... It wasn't really my idea, but mistakes happen." She picked up the tea and took a sip. "My immortality potion was all that and more."

Reimu sipped her tea before giving Marisa a sidelong glance. "I really don't understand why you think humanity and immortality can coexist."

"Yeah, yeah. I got that lecture from Sakuya already," Marisa slumped forward and looked out over the shrine gardens. "So, I guess things will be different, huh?"

Reimu opened her mouth, then closed it again. The miko actually seemed deep in thought. It wasn't a side of Reimu that Marisa was used to seeing.

Finally Reimu sighed and rolled her eyes. "How so? Incidents? You're still going to bust into my investigations because you're a thief. The shrine? My shrine is already infested with youkai, and I never let you near the holy items because, again, you're a thief. Donations?" Marisa chuckled as Reimu fixed her with a death glare. "You never give me those anyway."

Reimu tossed her hands in the air. "So what's the difference? Nothing's really changed."

Marisa laughed again before turning towards the gardens. "I suppose that'll do for now won't it."

"Just don't get too youkai like or I'll tell Sanae to exterminate you," Reimu said.

Marisa thought about that. "More youkai like then I was before? I wonder what I'd have to do. Hibernate maybe?"

"Or only drop by at night."

"Remilia been bothering you again?" Marisa asked.

"You have no idea," Reimu groaned. "Just two days ago..."

The two friends sat and talked together like always, on a perfectly normal day.


End file.
